Popcorn and Passion
by Aggie Escott
Summary: NB CONTAINS SERIOUS WHUMPING - WARNING Erm sorry folks, can't help it. Trying to incorporate a bit more fluff for you fluff-bunnies out there! Anyway Aaron and Spence go to the flicks and.... Please, all my dear friends out there in fanfic land, please R
1. Depp

Popcorn and Passion

Chapter1

_Sam Goldwyn said, "Why should people go out and pay to see bad movies when they can stay at home and see bad television for nothing."_

Depp

Moving back to The Castle was a cause to celebrate. The bodies in the garden had been dug up, and the bones in the chest in the attic had been retrieved, and most had been identified and reunited with grieving relatives. Floors had been taken up and re-laid; the top landing outside the library had been replaced.

It had been a while, but they were determined to make a go of living there.

"How shall we celebrate, Babe?" Aaron was holding Spence at arms length, his hands on his shoulders. "A meal and the movies? D'you fancy that?"

Spencer grinned. "Great. There's a movie I really want to see!"

"Why didn't you say? You don't have to wait until I suggest it you know. It's your life too!"

Spencer looked down at his feet, the guilt wave washing over him again like a tsunami. Aaron lifted his head with his finger tips.

"Please don't feel bad, Sweets. It's gone now. I bear you no resentment, it wasn't your fault, and besides, we're both still here." He pulled Spencer into an embrace, the only thing he knew that comforted him.

"I'm sorr…" H stopped. Aaron had told him he wasn't allowed to keep saying that. So instead he said, "I can't help it, Babe. It haunts me."

Spencer had had some real bad nightmares in which he could remember what he had done to Aaron while under the influence of the DDB, and although often he couldn't remember the dreams, sometimes he could, and always he remembered the pain.

He clung onto Aaron. Aaron nuzzled his face in Spencer's hair.

"Don't let him win, Spence." Aaron pulled away, and held his face in his hands. He stroked the back of his fingers along Spencer's cheek bone and across his lips. "I love you."

Spencer looked up at him with wide eyes. Aaron lifted his head and kissed his lips softly. Spencer put his arms around Aaron's neck and kissed him back.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They decided on movie and a take out after.

(Eating take out in bed felt so decadent, it made Spence giggle in anticipation.)

They drove to the AMC at Potomac Mills. They still hadn't decided which film to see when they got out of the car.

"Come on Spence. Alvin and the Chipmunks? You gotta be kidding me!" Aaron was horrified at the thought. "They talk in silly voices!"

Spencer started laughing. "Oh Babe, you are so easy to wind up!"

Aaron made a face, trying not to laugh. He put his arm around Spencer's shoulders, and they went in.

Spencer bought their tickets; Aaron bought a bucket of popcorn with extra sugar and topping for Spence.

Spencer gave him the tickets.

"'Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber of Fleet Street'" Aaron read. "That's an English story, isn't it?"

"Yes, a legend based on possible fact, although no evidence has ever been uncovered to prove the legend." Spencer began to go off on one. Aaron had promised himself he would never say 'be quiet' to him again. He was still spouting off facts when they went into the small theatre.

"…..According to the English tale, Todd was tried at the Old Bailey and hanged at Tyburn in January 1802, in front of a large crowd. But no record of the trial can be found in the Old Bailey sessions papers or the Newgate Calendar, nor are there any contemporary press reports either of the trial or of the hanging. So it ….."

"Spencey," Aaron whispered. "The film is about to start."

Spencer bit his bottom lip. "Sorry, Babe."

They settled down in the back row, (Spence would only sit in the back row. He didn't like anyone sitting behind him, especially when it was dark.) Aaron wrapped his arm protectively, if not a little awkwardly, around him. He knew that for the first ten minutes or so, Spence would be a little edgy, but as the film progressed, he got used to it, and the film took over. He pulled Spence to him, and Spence leaned on him.

"He is so familiar, I just don't know why." Spencer whispered.

"Who?"

"The actor, Depp. He looks like someone I know but I can't think who….."

"Maybe you met him in another life!"

"Shhhh!"

"Sorry!"

They sat fairly quietly munching popcorn watching the movie. There were bits when Spence had to watch it through his fingers, like when Todd was waving the razor around, saying that his arm was now complete, and when Todd cut the throats, and when the bodies fell through the trap door and…..well, most of the film actually!

"Are you sure you're enjoying this, Spencey?" Aaron whispered in his ear. "You look terrified!" Aaron was almost laughing.

"Oh no!" said Spence, not hearing Aaron at all, and all pretence at whispering forgotten. "That's horrible!"

He turned away and hid his face in Aaron's chest.

Aaron sat grinning, munching popcorn.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The sugar in the popcorn had made Aaron thirsty.

"I need to go get a drink, Spence." he whispered. "You want one?"

Spencer nodded his head. "Don't be long, Babe."

Aaron got up and left the theatre. Most movies were finished be now, and the other screens were closed. Most of the staff had left.

As he went through the barrier, he saw a group of men enter the foyer.

He thought it was odd, as there were no more films showing. He soundlessly back tracked to stand behind a merchandise stand. The tall man at the front suddenly produced a gun, and shot it into the air.

One of the girls screamed, and another one of the men, an ugly guy with red hair, grabbed her and twisted her arm up her back.

Aaron's hand went to his ankle holster. He was armed, but his gun would be useless against what he could see. He crouched down low, and watched as the men, (There were three of them) round up the staff. Red Hair made the girl he was holding lock the doors and turn off the lights. Then they marched the staff past Aaron, up the ramp into the theatre where Spence was watching Sweeney Todd.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He wasn't actually watching it any more.

Rather he was kneeling at the front of the theatre, with a 1014 Combat Shotgun at his head.

Just after Aaron had left, a man at the front of the theatre had stood up and fired into the ceiling and at the projectionist booth. The film stopped as the projectionist died, pulling the equipment down.

Someone screamed.

The house lights came on.

The guy with the gun waved it above the heads of the people in the theater. Some on e was crying. Everyone was frozen, unmoving, including Spencer.

"Right! Now I have all your attention, I want everyone in the front rows, over this side of the room." He indicated to his left. Nobody moved.

"Now!"

Spencer slowly got up and started to encourage the others to obey.

"Come on," he said to the couple in front. "Just do as he says."

Spencer started to move across the seats, when the gun fired just above his head. He automatically hit the floor.

The gunman walked up the aisle, and dragged Spencer out from between the seats, and back down to the front of the theatre.

He knelt Spencer on the floor with his hands behind his neck. He had plasticuffs with which he fastened Spencer's hands behind his back.

he pressed the barrel of his shotgun into the back of Spencer's head, and he stood behind him.

"Now! Let's start this again! Everyone, over this side. Let's go! Now!"

He pushed Spencer's head forward with the barrel of the gun.

"Let me see your ID."

Carefully, Spencer took his ID out of his bag, and held it up.

"F.B.I." he read, as if he had not seen these letters in this configuration before. "You could be useful."

He turned the gun around and knocked him to the floor with it.

Spencer lay still, dazed, and unmoving.


	2. Two Views

Chapter 2

Two Views

Aaron stayed crouched behind the stand, wondering what the hell had just happened. He needed to find a way to see what was going on in the theatre.

Very carefully, he took his gun from the ankle holster and crept to the side of the display. Peering round the edge, he checked that there was no-one in the foyer.

It was deserted, and the lights were out except for the security lights around the sides.

Keeping close to the wall in the shadows, he moved silently to the closed door of the theatre. He listened. He needed to know what was going on.

He heard footsteps coming towards the door.

Aaron looked around for somewhere to hide. The only place was back where he had come from.

Quickly, and without worrying too much about being quiet, he ran back to his hiding place.

The theatre door opened and Red Hair emerged, gun in hand. He quickly walked down the ramp towards Aaron, and opened the door opposite where Aaron was crouching.

Waiting just a moment to ensure no-one else was coming out of the theatre, Aaron darted across the hall to the door through which Red Hair had just gone.

Carefully, slowly, Aaron pushed open the door. There was a flight of stairs to the left, and a door at the top. Aaron took the stairs cautiously, bending low, making no sound.

The door opened when he was half way up.

He had nowhere to go.

Red Hair stared straight down the stairs at him, and brought his 1014 up. Aaron pointed his gun and threw himself flat.

The semi fired over his head and a split second later, Aaron fired one round.

He took the UnSub in the chest, and he fell back through the door.

Crawling up the stairs, he put his gun in his pocket, and pulled the man out of the doorway and into the room at the top.

It was the projectionist's suite. Aaron saw the body of the projectionist pushed up against the wall, and the equipment in a pile in the corner.

He turned the UnSub onto his back and checked him out.

He was still alive. Aaron turned his face towards him. The man's eyes were half closed, and he was groaning when Aaron moved him.

"What do you want?" Aaron hissed, his gun at Red Hair's temple. "What are you doing here?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

In the theatre, Spencer lay still on the floor in the front of the theatre. He knew that the back of his head was bleeding, he could feel the blood running down to the floor, and he could feel the growing pool on his cheek. He tried to keep his breathing even. He didn't want the UnSubs to know he was awake.

He could hear someone crying, and frightened whimpering from the hostages. He didn't think anyone had been hurt. He hoped he could divert any attention away from them.

Aaron. Where was he? Had he come back? Was he among the hostages?

He felt hands on his arms and he was pulled upright.

One of the men holding him was looking at his ID.

"Doctor Spencer Reid, BAU." he read. "What is BAU?"

Spencer feigned unconsciousness. The man lifted his head and smacked his face hard. One of the women screamed. Spencer blinked, and shook his head slightly. The man held Spencer's chin tightly in one hand, and jerked his head up.

"I said, what is BAU?"

"It s-stands for Behavioral Analysis Unit. I'm a P-Profiler." he said softly.

Spencer looked past the UnSub in front of him, to the hostages. He saw that a bag was being passed along the rows, and they were putting mobiles and valuables into the bag. Women had been separated from the men, and they had all been cuffed to the arm rests of the seats. He guessed that as long as he was useful, they would leave them along. At least there were no children…..

"Bit young to be a Fed?"

"I was….."

The hand across the face again. Spencer's head jerked to the side. He felt a stab of pain as his neck cricked.

"That was a rhetorical question. Are you stupid or something?"

Spencer kept quiet and sucked at his bottom lip, tasting blood. He stared at the man with wide eyes trying not to show fear.

He thought of how Aaron never showed that he was afraid, always the same stoic expression.

His mind flashed back to that time when they had tracked the LDSK to the hospital, and he and Aaron were facing the gun of a killer. He had been terrified, he was so scared, his body had been shaking. Aaron, on the other hand was in total control of himself, and the situation.

Total discipline and restraint. Spencer wished he could be like that.

He had wanted to learn from Aaron . But his emotions were too close to the surface, and they spilled over far too easily.

He glanced at the hostages, sitting and huddling. He couldn't see Aaron, so he was probably trying to get them out.

Unless they had found him already?

He felt a clenching in the pit of his stomach as he thought of this. If he was shot somewhere, and there was no-one to help him…….

He forced his expression from panic into one of calm.

Aaron would be relying on him; he had to play his part, whatever that turned out to be.

The red haired guy brought over the bag of things confiscated from the hostages.

"Now yours." he said to Spencer. He put his hand into Spencer's pocket.

"I don't have my phone on me." said Spencer, "And I'm not carrying."

This time, it was a fist to the side of the head. Spencer took a step side ways, but managed to keep his balance. He saw flashes of light before him, with effort, he quickly regained composure. He felt sick, and his ears were ringing.

The woman screamed again, then her scream broke into sobs. Spencer wanted to tell her not to scream. These UnSubs could go in any direction. He didn't want the hostages to antagonize them.

_Aaron, I hope you have a plan. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up._

He swayed slightly

"You will only speak when you are spoken to."

He finished the search of Spencer's pockets, then he patted him down checking his ankles. Spence hoped that if Aaron was out there, that he had his gun. He didn't know if he had left it at home with the others.

The tall man who was obviously the leader called the red headed guy over.

"We need somewhere to put this one. He's important, and he'll be useful. Go and find somewhere."

He nodded and, shotgun in hand left the room.

Spencer was walked to the front row on the other side of the theatre to the hostages, and cuffed to a railing that ran up the side of the ramp.

It was at that moment that the shot was fired.

Everyone in the room froze.

Then a second shot.

A different sound, a different gun.

Aaron!


	3. Contact

Chapter 3

Contact

The man died before Aaron could get any information out of him. Sighing, Aaron put his gun into his pocket, and picked up the shotgun the UnSub had been carrying.

He checked the available rounds with satisfaction, and stepped over to the window.

The house lights were on and Aaron could see the hostages clearly. He counted twenty three, and they were all cuffed to their seats.

He couldn't see the UnSubs.

And couldn't see Spencer either

He guessed it wouldn't be long before the UnSubs would be looking for their colleague, who was now lying dead at Aaron's feet. He also knew that if he didn't get out of here, he was as good as dead. There was no other way out apart from the way he had come in. And so now he was faced with a choice.

Either get down the stairs and hide somewhere, and hope he didn't run into them.

Or stay put and hope that when they found him, he would be able to outgun them.

Neither was a very hopeful choice, but he had to do something. There were twenty three people down there, very likely frightened out of their wits.

And there was Spence.

Where was he? And why had they singled him out?

He glanced again out through the window.

Then he made his decision. He crouched down inn the corner behind the projection quipment and waited.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Who did you come here with?"

Spencer was still standing against the wall, hands cuffed to the rail.

"I c-came alone." Spencer stammered. All his energy was going into staying calm and not showing fear. Then he spoke and sounded like a scared child.

"I will ask you again," the tall man said, " And if you lie to me again, I might have to hurt you."

He put his face inches away from Spencer's.

Spence tried to pull away, but he was against the wall. He kept eye contact with the man, and waited, unflinching.

"Who are you with?" He separated each word with a pause.

_I'm sorry Aaron. I've messed up again._

"I came alone."

The punch to the side of his face was followed directly to one on the other side. He gasped as his head jerked first one way then the other. He tasted blood in his mouth where his teeth cut into his cheek. The skin on his cheekbone tore as the tall mans ring split his face. Spence stood with his legs apart to keep his balance, but his head was swimming, and he thought another one like that and he would be out.

"Ok, Kid. You are protecting someone. But you will tell me who it is, I can guarantee that."

He paused, and then, "Who did you come here with?"

"I c-came alone."

The man jerked Spencer's head round by his hair, and pulled it down and to the side so that Spencer was facing the ceiling. Spencer cried out as his neck was twisted at an angle it was never meant to be at.

The man stood to the side of Spencer, and with his hand on Spencer's head, fingers forwards, resting in his eye sockets, he asked the question again.

"Who are you with?"

"N-no-one." Spencer was terrified. He knew that this was going to hurt beyond belief. He knew he could be blinded. He couldn't move his head up or down, his neck was bent to its limit and beyond. There was no way to escape what this man was going to do to him. He shook, and he waited for the pain.

And the pain came.

The fingers pressed into his eyes. Not hard at first.

Spencer breaths came in quick fearful gasps

Then the pressure, the man's nails cutting the lids. Spencer couldn't hold back. He screamed. He took a breath and screamed again. His knees bent as he tried to get away, but there was nowhere to go. He felt blood and tears run down his cheeks, and still he screamed.

Swirling red patterns of pain as the man's fingers gouged and dug into his eye sockets.

Agony shot through from his eyes to his brain. He started to lose consciousness, when a gunshot ripped the air, and Spencer was released.

He fell to the floor, hanging from the rail, whimpering and crying in terror and pain. Tears and blood dripped from his eyes onto the floor.

But he couldn't see them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aaron heard a cry, and he tensed.

Spence?

Then the scream.

The scream didn't stop. It was Spence.

_Sweetheart, what are they doing to you?_

Aaron pushed the equipment out of the way and ran to the door, almost slipping over on the UnSubs blood. He pulled the door open, and ran down the stairs two at a time. He could still hear the screams, and it was tearing him up.

He burst through the doors into the theatre, and fired the gun into the air.

"Leave him alone!"

The screaming stopped, and Aaron heard a soft thud as Spencer fell.

The screaming was replaced by crying. Some of the hostages were sobbing, but it was the sound of Spencer's soft whimpering that stabbed into Aaron's brain.

"Drop the gun, or I kill him now."

The tall man was holding his shotgun against Spencer as he hung helplessly by his restraints.

Aaron stretched out his arm and the gun clattered to the floor. He held his hands up, palms out.

The tall man stood by Spence, the other two advanced on Aaron and held held him by his upper arms. They led him over to stand next to Spence.

Spencer was still hanging from the rail, moaning softly, rocking, dripping blood.

Aaron was searched, and the gun removed from his pocket. The tall man opened his ID.

"Ah very good. Another Fed." He smirked at Aaron.

"So you are the big boy who brought this little kitten to the pictures." He kicked Spence and looked at his two friends. "Ain't that just so sweet!"

A laugh. Aaron stared straight ahead. He longed to get onto his knees and hold Spence. He didn't know what they had done to him.

He turned his head to look at him. Whatever these were going to do, he had to speak to Spencer.

"Spencey, I'm here. Just hold…."

The tall man hit Aaron with the butt of the shotgun in the solar plexus. Aaron would have doubled up was he not held up by the two men. His head fell forward, and he let out an agonized moan as the air left his lungs.

For a moment, he couldn't breath, as his nervous system reset.

Spencer turned towards the sound.

"Aaron? Aaron…"

Aaron was gasping, trying to breath. He was pulled a little further up the ramp, and cuffed to the rail with his hands behind his back.

As they let go of him, he fell to his knees, as his lungs tried to draw air.

He was left there gasping for breath, and they left him.

The tall man picked up the bag of items confiscated from the hostages. He took a mobile phone out of the bag, and took it to the back of the theatre.

Now was the time to make contact.


	4. Separation

Chapter 4

Separation

_**Matthew Arnold wrote**, 'Eternal Passion! Eternal Pain!' _

The hostages were quiet now. They had seen what they had done to the young FBI agent, almost gouged his eyes out. Fear had stopped the crying. They sat in their rows, frozen and afraid, and wondering what was going to happen.

When Aaron had come in to save his friend, one or two of the hostages had thought that this was rescue, and were distraught when Aaron had been beaten and cuffed.

"You!" the tall man pointed to one of his men. "Go and find Gord. He is taking too long."

Aaron thought Gord was likely the dead man in the projection suite.

He had no protection, and he was sure that when they found their man's body, he would have to answer to them.

But first he had to try and help Spence.

Aaron slid the cuffs along the rail to Spencer. So far he had not seen his face, and he was stunned when the younger man turned his head towards his voice.

His face was bruised and cut, with blood dried in streams down his cheeks. But the thing that made Aaron's stomach clench were his eyes.

Spencer held them closed. His eye lids were cut and bloody, around his eyes, swollen and red. The blood was mixed with tears that were running down his cheeks and dripping off his chin.

_Oh god, Spence! What have they done to you?_

Aaron crawled as close as he could to his lover.

"Spencey, it's Aaron. I'm here, Love." He wanted to put his arms around him, wanted to hold him, cool his eyes, heal him. But he couldn't.

He leaned towards him, and kissed him.

Spencer was shaking and trembling in pain and fear. He pressed his lips to Aaron's.

Aaron put his head on Spencer's shoulder, and nuzzled his soft hair.

"Aaron…."

"I love you, Spence." He whispered. "Just hold on. Help will come."

"Babe, I can't see….I can't see…" Panicking.

"It's alright, Spencey, I'm here, Love. I'm here."

Aaron pulled away from Spence. Spencer cried in protest.

"Babe, please don't go. It's so dark. Stay with me, please!"

It was breaking Aaron apart.

Aaron called to the UnSubs who were at the front of the theatre, talking in low tones.

"Please!" he called to them. "Let me help him!"

One of them glanced over to Aaron, and turned away again

"Please, he could lose his sight." Aaron's eyes were filling with tears now. "Just let me help him!"

At a nod from the tall man, he came over to Aaron.

"I don't know what you think this is, but why should we care if this little freak is blinded or not. As for releasing you, do you think we are stupid?" He pointed to Spence. "Look at it! What does it matter?"

He kicked Spencer under his chin, knocking him off his feet. He cried out loud, as the heavy boot impacted. He had no defence, and he couldn't see it coming. He fell back, cracking his head on the wall. Aaron was helpless. He went close to Spencer again and touched him with his face against Spencer's.

Spencer moaned and shook as Aaron's skin stroked against Spence's.

There was a smear of blood on the wall, and Spence was likely concussed.

"Spence, speak to me. Say something." Aaron rocked against him, nuzzling, whispering.

Spencer couldn't respond. He fought against the pain and the terrible fear of blindness. He remembered a time when Aaron was temporarily sightless, and how scared they both were then. Aaron outwardly had coped in his usual steady way, but Spencer had seen the other side. A terrified and frightened man, whose life was slipping past him.

Spencer tried to claw back some control, to bypass the dread he felt.

He rocked with Aaron.

The door to the theatre banged open as the third UnSub came running back in.

"Gord is dead!" he shouted. "The bastard killed him!"

Very calmly, as if he had all the time in the world, the tall man walked over to Aaron.

"While we await a response to my phone call, Mr. FBI, you are going to come with me."

He pulled Aaron away from Spencer, and made him stand up. Spencer cried out as Aaron left him.

"I am going to show the others what happens to someone who kills one of my men."

Holding Aaron's own gun to his temple, the tall man undid Aaron's cuffs. He pushed Aaron in front of him to the clear area at the front of the theatre.

His remaining two men held Aaron by his wrists, and pulled his arms out straight.

And the beating started.

Spencer could hear the sickening sounds of fists contacting Aaron's skin, and the soft cries as Aaron was beaten in front of the hostages.

The sounds of Aaron in distress pulled Spencer back.

_Aaron! Aaron, I want to help you……I am so sorry, My Love!_

Aaron was being hurt; Spencer needed to try to help him

He needed to be able to open his eyes a little, just a tiny bit, to test them.

The pain of just moving his eye lids was making him dizzy. He heard Aaron's cries, and with renewed strength, he forced his eyes open.

The torn eyelids parted, triggering new rivulets of scarlet on his cheeks. Tears filled his eyes, blurring the little vision he had, diluting the bloody trails on his face.

He was having to use all his will power to force his eyes to line up with the open lids. He concentrated, his brain screaming for him to leave his eyes to recover.

He feared for Aaron's life. He had to do something.

He briefly thought back to when Aaron had given up his freedom. It had only been because he had heard Spencer scream.

Guilt flooded his consciousness, as he thought of what was happening to Aaron as a consequence.

If only he had been able to endure silently. As it was, he had drawn Aaron into giving himself up, when Spencer was being hurt for the very reason that he would not give him up.

A terrible wicked irony.

Now Aaron needed him.

Spencer closed his eye lids carefully, and started again.

He had to do something.

He heard Aaron's body falling to the floor. He wasn't crying out any more, but the beating continued.

Spencer screamed as loud as he could.

He needed to attract the attention of the UnSubs.

He screamed again.

It worked. They left Aaron and came over to torment Spencer.

"Shut the hell up!"

One of them stood Spencer up, and turned him to face them. A hard punch to the face and his eyes started to bleed and water again.

_Oh god. That hurts!__...Aaron! Go now. Escape!_

Another punch sent Spencer into oblivion.

Aaron heard Spencer scream, and he became vaguely aware that the beating had stopped.

He crawled away from the centre of the open space towards the emergency exit at the front. No-one tried to stop him. He could see the hostages watching him wide eyed, rooting for him, willing him to get away.

Spencer was doing this for him.

He wasn't sure he could move far though. He had broken ribs, and possibly fractured skull. He had taken kicks to the groin and face, and he thought any movement would make him sick.

Spencer wasn't screaming now. The silence was worse than the screaming. Aaron felt a stab of fear.

He crawled the rest of the way to the door.

_Please, don't let it be locked!_

He pushed against the door, and it swung silently open. He rolled through, and let it swing closed behind him.

For a moment, he lay on his back, his breaths harsh and uneven. He had to take care with the broken ribs. If he damaged a lung, he would be of no help to the hostages or Spencer.

He turned over onto his hands and knees, and looked around for somewhere to go to recover and plan.

There was a cleaner's cupboard to his right. He reached up and tried the door. It opened. Aaron dragged himself inside, and leaned against the door.

The pain in his lower body was dreadful. He leaned over and was violently sick. He held his arms around his chest to support his ribs, but the pain still cut into him.

His body heaved and pitched, as he threw up nothing, leaving him shivering and trembling on his hands and knees. His eyes watered and he was shaking with the effort..

He sat up again, his body exhausted from the beating, and the heaving and gagging left him unable to think straight.

Spencer had 'drawn fire' so that he could escape.

_Spencey, Sweetheart, I'm so proud of what you have done today. It just makes me love you so much more. I am going to get you out of here, even if I must die doing it._

He closed his bruised eyes, and tried to think.


	5. Identity

Chapter 5

Identity

Slowly Spencer became aware of his surroundings again. He was still cuffed to the rail and he was hanging forward on his knees with his arms pulled backwards behind him. He didn't know how long he had been like this, but when he tried to move, the muscles in his arms screamed at him.

His body was hurting in new places, and he could only assume that he had taken a beating while he was unconscious. He moved his legs and pain shot up into his abdomen.

An involuntary moan escaped his lips, drawing the attention of one of the UnSubs. Spencer felt a hand in his hair as his head was jerked up. He thought that the UnSub must have been waiting next to him for him to wake up.

Spencer could not open his eyes. They were beyond hope of opening now. Blood had dried on his eye lashes, sticking them together. The skin in his face felt stiff with dried blood and tears. In the back of his mind was the feeling that serious damage had been done to his eyes, and that he may have lost his eyesight, possible his eyes.

He shivered as he tried to put these thought out of his head. He needed to stay with it. People were depending on him.

The thought at the front of his mind though was Aaron. He didn't know if his diversion had worked, whether Aaron had managed to escape or not.

If he had, then the hostages had a chance, even if he didn't.

So far, he and Aaron had taken up all the UnSubs' attention.

He felt his head being jerked upwards. "We need you."

Without warning the cuffs were unlocked, and Spencer hit the floor hard. A cry of pain as he landed face down. His arms suddenly free were going into spasms and he had no control over his body.

The hand in his hair again, pulling him to his feet, and then he was dragged away from the wall.

Desperately he tried to get on to his feet, but he was being pulled along too quickly, and he ended up on his back being dragged by his hair.

Kicking with his legs, trying to gain purchase, but it was impossible. Each breath came out as a groan of pain.

He grabbed hold of the end seat and tried to slow down his progress to whatever awaited him. The UnSub jerked his hair hard and he let go with a cry.

He could hear the hostages gasping and someone was crying. Spencer hoped it wasn't because they were being hurt. His first duty as an FBI agent was to protect them. If the only way to do this was to 'draw fire', and possibly even give his life, then so be it.

The dragging stopped and his hair was released. He lay back on the floor, trying to catch his breath again.

"Stand up."

Shakily, Spencer turned slowly onto his front, and got onto his hands and knees. His arms still hurt with the sudden movement after being locked in the same position for so long. He felt a hand in his hair again.

"No….I'll do it…" His voice was rough and barely audible, but they left him alone to get onto his feet.

He stood swaying, afraid he would fall again. He held his head up in a show of feeble defiance, and pushed his hair off his face.

"Our negotiator does not believe me when I tell him that I have two Feds here as hostages." It was the voice of the tall man who had hurt him earlier. Spencer felt an involuntary shudder pass down his spine. He hoped that the man hadn't been able to see it.

"…You are going to put him right. But note well, FBI, that if we think you are giving them information that we do not want you to give, one of the hostages will die, and I will finish what I started earlier."

Spencer nodded, and a mobile was put in his hand.

"This is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU." he said, trying to keep his voice even despite the pain he was in. A tremor crept into his voice even so, and those who knew him would have noticed a higher pitch than usual. "I am being held here with a number of hostages…."

The phone was taken off him again.

The inability to see, coupled with impaired balance through too many kicks to the head gave Spencer the feeling that the room was spinning.

With a sigh, he fell to the floor. He made no attempt to save himself; he just crashed sideways, and lay still.

His perceptions were fading in and out; he could hear the hostages murmur when he fell. He wondered where Aaron was, if he was lying dead or if he had escaped.

He felt his stomach clench at the thought of Aaron being hurt somewhere, and he not knowing.

_If I am going to die here, please let it be so that Aaron can live……_

He felt a rush of guilt that the other hostages weren't at the front of his mind, but in the state he was, he couldn't help it. His mind and body seemed to be taking on a life separate from him.

He was lifted up by his upper arms, and dragged back over to the rail. This time he made no attempt to stand, His head fell forward, his hair hanging in blood stained clumps over his useless eyes. He was cuffed again and as he hung helpless and without protection, they took delight in kicking him, and he moaned and cried out for Aaron and tears and blood fell.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They had come looking for him, but he had wedged the door shut, and they thought the door was locked.

Aaron had held his breath while they pushed the door, praying that the wooden broom handles wouldn't break. They held, and the UnSubs soon gave up and left him.

Aaron's breath was uneven from the dry vomiting, and the shooting pains that wracked his body. He sat for a minute or two, recovering from the shock, and then tried to think of how he was going to get out of there, and bring Spence and the other hostages with him.

He feared for Spencer, who had given of himself so that he could get away.

He didn't know how ruthless these UnSubs were, whether or not they were up to killing an FBI agent.

Aaron hoped that the negotiating power of having Spencer as a hostage would keep him alive.

He looked about for some kind of weapon. The closet was a cleaning materials storage cupboard. He pulled himself onto his feet, and switched the light on. There were some cloths that he pushed along the bottom of the door, just in case the light showed on the other side, then he began a search for anything he could use.

The first thing he saw was a pair of scissors. They went into his pocket. He picked up a spray bottle, and poured alkali floor stripper into it.

Not terribly affective against a 1014 combat shotgun, but at short range, could do enough damage to give him the upper hand.

He screwed the lid on again, and put the bottle in his pocket with the scissors. He removed the broom holding the door closed, turned off the light, and kicked the cloths out of the way.

Very cautiously, he opened the door and slipped out. There was no-one around, but he could hear Spencer crying out as he was suffering in the hands of these men.

Tears pricked the back of Aaron's eyes.

_I'll get you out of there, Spencey. Hold on. Just hold on………._


	6. Integrity

Chapter 6

Integrity

The cold water in his face woke Spencer from the dark hole he was hiding in. He didn't want to come back, just to be hurt and have to find his way back down again.

Rough hands shaking him.

"Wake up, Freak. You are going to help us."

The cuffs were again undone and he fell hard on his face on the floor. He managed to turn his head to the side this time so his jaw and ear impacted with the floor. Painfully, he climbed onto his knees. Again the stabbing pains into his abdomen stopped him from standing. He turned blind bleeding eyes towards the man standing by him.

"G-give m-me a m-minute, p-please, and I will s-stand."

No hands grabbed at him, but no one spoke either.

Spencer forced his arms to the front, biting hard on his lip, and tasting blood, to prevent him from crying out. He pressed down onto the floor with his hands, feeling something like an electric shock shoot up his arms into his body. It felt as if his head would explode.

Carefully, he put one foot at a time onto the floor, and, shaking and trembling, using the wall to pull himself up, he managed to stand.

He leaned on the wall, his head back, trying to feel past the agony from the kicking to the groin. New tears forced themselves from behind his torn eye lids, stinging the already hurting skin.

All he wanted to do was curl up and feel Aaron pressing behind him, and nurse his pain. The hand in his hair, pulling him, told him that there were other things waiting for him.

_Aaron, where ever you are, please, get these people out, and save yourself._

The man turned him round and cuffed his hands behind him, and pulled him off the wall. Bent forward at the waist, and limping with small steps, Spencer was led to the front of the theatre again.

The tall man spoke to him.

"It seems, FBI, that the police won't negotiate with us." he said. "They are calling us terrorists, which, of course, we are not. We have said that each hour that goes by, we will assassinate a hostage, until they open negotiations with us. You are going to choose which hostage will be first." The man smiled nastily, but it was lost on Spencer. "I know you can't see, so each hostage has a number. You will choose a number."

Spencer shook his head. "I will not choose a number. I won't play."

He felt a kick to the back of his legs, and he fell onto his knees with a cry of agony.

The hand then pulled his head back so that it was bent as far as possible. A soft cry of pain escaped open lips, and he again felt fingers crawl down his forehead into his eye sockets again.

Spencer cringed away from the hand, but like the last time, there was nowhere for him to go.

Spencer could hear some of the hostages crying. He guessed that this show was for them. He was determined not to give in to their demands. If the government wouldn't work with terrorists, then he surely couldn't

"This time, kid, you will hear your eyeballs pop when I push them into your skull."

If his eyes had the possibility of recovery before, this time he was sure he would be blinded.

The fingers pressed into his eyes. He felt liquid run down his face again. He didn't want to scream to give them the satisfaction, but he screamed anyway. Again the red swirling pattern of pain, and again, feeling as if his eye balls were going to be pressed out of their sockets.

In his mind he called out for Aaron. He called for help, to be freed again.

He screamed again as the pressure increased, and he heard his cries echoed by one of the hostages.

Suddenly he started to choke, as he threw up, but his head was pulled back and he wasn't able to eject the liquid from his mouth so he could breath. He was dry drowning and the fingers in his eyes were blinding him. He coughed and choked and screamed.

Then, as the screams changed and the sound bubbled through bloody foam in his mouth, he breathed in deeply, and drew blood down into his lungs. His heart beat so he could hear it, but he couldn't breathe through the blood flooding his airways.

As he died, he felt the satisfaction of dying with his integrity intact.

_Aaron I love you_….._please,_..._ Be proud of me_………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The tall man looked down at the body at his feet.

That was not supposed to happen. The Fed was his last bargaining chip.

He was annoyed. The man was weak

He picked up another of the phones from the bag and called the same number. The answer was the same though. They would not negotiate with terrorists.

"The first hostage is dead. We will leave the body in the foyer near the window. As before, you will not attempt to enter the building. You may send one person the see the body through the doors, and then move away. If these instructions are not obeyed, we will decrease the waiting time to half an hour."

He shut the phone and switched it off.

He kicked Spencer's still body. "Dump it in the foyer." he said to the other two. Then he turned to the hostages.

"You have half an hour to decide who is going to be next."

Most of them were crying with grief having watched the young man brutally killed in front of them when he could have saved himself.

But rather than despair, his death inspired courage in his fellow hostages. Each in their own way determined not to let these men break them.

The two men each took a foot of the corpse and dragged it out of the theatre into the wide corridor. They dragged it down the ramp and past the merchandise stand where Aaron was crouched, and the body was dragged towards the foyer. ………………………………………………………………………………………………

At first, Aaron couldn't see what the two men were doing. It was dark in the corridor and in the foyer, only the emergency night lights were on.

Then he saw that they were dragging a body. Aaron's heart sank. They were starting to kill the hostages.

Then he saw whose body it was.

_Oh god! It's Spence!_

He ran out of his hiding place. He could not stay hidden and watch them treat the body of someone he loved that much with such derision and in such a cold and indifferent way.

"Get your filthy hands off him!"

The men dropped Spencer's feet and turned to face Aaron.

Aaron sprayed the men's faces with the detergent.

Immediately their hands went to their faces and clawed at their stinging eyes. Aaron landed a punch to the face of the man on the right, sending him backwards, hitting his head on the wall on the way down. The other man tried to hit Aaron, but with eyes sprayed with detergent, he couldn't see properly, and missed. It gave Aaron the chance to send him the same way as his companion.

He took their guns, and hit them both again with one of them. He couldn't bring himself to shoot them as they lay in front of him.

But they wouldn't be getting up for a while.

Aaron knelt next to Spencer, his tears falling onto Spencer's beautiful face, beaten and cut.

And dead.

Aaron picked him up and carried him back to his hiding place.

He wrapped his arms around his body, and buried his face in Spencer's soft hair.

He kissed his unresponsive lips and gently touched his lifeless eyes.

He pulled the body close and kissed his hair.

Aaron broke down, crying bitter tears of anguish.


	7. Cooperation

Chapter 7

Cooperation

_John Donne wrote, "Sweetest love, I do not go for weariness of thee, nor in hope the world can show a fitter love for me; but I must die at last."_

With shaking hands, Aaron laid Spencer's body down on the floor.

He didn't know how long Spencer had been dead. His body was warm and there were no signs of lividity. But it could be too late to save him now.

Aaron could see blood on Spencer's lips. He opened the young man's mouth and cleared it of clotting blood. He felt for a pulse, but he couldn't find one. He had to clear his airways.

Her knelt astride Spencer's hips and started chest compressions.

_Come on, Sweetheart, come on. Don't die on me. Please, love, breathe!_

Aaron's tears fell onto Spencer's chest in little round drops. Aaron looked at Spencer's eyes. He had lovely eyes. Huge and expressive; gold and hazel, reflecting a light from windows into his soul.

Now closed. Cut and swollen.

Aaron pressed down onto Spencer's body. His whole world was literarily lying here beneath him.

How long did Aaron sit there? It could have been seconds, or years. Time stopped for him. There were no terrorists; no hostages; nothing. Just this wonderful boy who he had to save; small and shy, but loved so much.

_Please, Babe. Don't die. Let me die for you, Spence. Please, let it be me_…..

Spencer coughed. Bloody fluid was expelled from his mouth. Aaron stopped pressing down on him. He felt the slim body move beneath him as he tried to take air into his lungs.

"Spence! Come on Spence!" Aaron knelt forwards and turned Spencer onto his side. He gently held his face, whispering encouragement.

Spencer coughed again, more vigorously this time. Aaron cleared his mouth of clotting blood and fluids. He felt Spencer's chest rise as he took a shuddering breath, and let out a cry as life returned to his body.

Aaron turned Spence onto his back and wrapped his arms around him and held him. He held Spencer against his chest, rocking, feeling his body move in rhythm with his own. He felt as if he would stay like this forever, he never wanted to let go. He wanted to protect him, keep him safe from anyone or anything that could hurt him.

Spencer was breathing, but he was not responding. His restrained arms hung loosely behind him, and his head fell back.

"Wake up, Sweetheart, Spencey, it's Aaron. I love you, Spence. Wake up now!"

Aaron felt a rush of fear. What if this was it? What if Spencer would never wake up?

"I am going to have to leave you, Sweetheart. But you will be safe here. I will come back for you." Aaron leaned over and softly kissed Spencer's eyes. "I love you."

Very carefully, Aaron laid Spencer down in the recovery position. He stroked his hair from his eyes and touched his lips.

Even in the beaten state he was in, he was still beautiful. Aaron blinked tears away, and thought of what he must do.

He needed to hide and restrain the two terrorists that were lying in the foyer.

He picked up one of the 1014's, and placed it under Spencer's arm. The other he took for himself. With a last glance at Spencer, he ran out to where the two men were lying.

Glancing around for a place to hide them, he lifted the legs on one of the terrorists, and dragged him behind the food bar. Then he went back for the other one.

He removed the belt from one of them, and laid him on his front. Using the belt, he tied the man's ankles and wrists together. Then he restrained the second man in the same way. He moved them apart from each other, and checked that they were both still breathing.

It wasn't exactly a hiding place, but they were hidden from immediate view.

Aaron sat next to them. If he had seen all the terrorists, that meant there was only one left.

That should be easy enough to deal with, except there were hostages that could be injured or killed in the cross fire. He needed the last UnSub to come away from the hostages.

Sooner or later he would come out to find his colleagues, but Aaron needed to get Spencer to a hospital now.

He pointed his gun at the ceiling and shot several rounds. He hoped that would bring him out.

There were several doors in and out of the theatre. Aaron didn't know which way the UnSub would come out.

Keeping low, he ran back towards the stand where Spencer was. He shot again. He knew that his ammunition was limited, but he had to get the UnSub away from the hostages.

He was about half way across the open space when the theatre door opened.

The UnSub stepped out into the corridor, holding a frightened woman hostage in front of him.

Aaron froze.

"Drop your weapon."

For the second tome that evening, Aaron let the shotgun fall to the floor, and he raised his hands.

"Walk towards me, slowly."

Aaron obeyed.

"I don't know what you have done to my colleagues, and for the moment, it doesn't matter." he said. "Killing your partner was a mistake. He was a weak pathetic man. But it looks as if you have kindly rectified that error." He indicated the theatre door. "Get in there, and don't try anything."

Aaron entered the theatre again in front of the UnSub.

The hostage was cuffed again onto the seat. Aaron was made to sit on the floor facing the hostages.

The UnSub looked at his watch. "Your unfortunate partner refused to cooperate, which is why he is now dead. I hope you can learn from his mistake, and do as you are told." he waved his gun towards the group of frightened people. "I will be making a call in three minutes. If they still refuse to negotiate, you will choose a number, and the hostage with that number will be sacrificed."

So Spencer had given his life for the hostages. Aaron felt a rush of pride for the young agent. His mind went back to the first time he had seen Spencer. He had looked like a child, scared and nervous, holding a messenger bag in front of him like a shield. When he commented in a meeting, he was almost apologetic in tone. Aaron had wondered how this kid would ever make it in the FBI.

But now, after only a few short years, Aaron trusted him with his life.

He looked at the terrorist who had all but killed the bravest man he knew.

The gun was pointing at his head, as the man made a call.

All Aaron had to do was choose a number. A hostage was going to die anyway, so what difference did it make?

Spencer had died rather than cooperate.

The UnSub closed the phone.

"No negotiation. So choose a number."

"No." Aaron closed his eyes, waiting.

The terrorist fired his gun.

**A/N - I know that technically, Spencer would not have been saved. But this is fiction! And I could never kill him. He is loved way too much!**

**Thank you for all my reviews, dear ppls. I love you all! **


	8. Desperation

Chapter 8

Desperation

The bullet tore through Aaron's hair, slicing into his scalp. It ripped the top of his head open, and embedded in the wall behind him. Almost at once, blood poured down his face into his eyes. He fell backwards and the back of his head cracked onto the floor. For just a moment, Aaron blacked out, but as he came round, and he felt the blood pooling around his head, he had to fight against the panic that was crouching, ready to spring and tear him to pieces.

For a moment he lay there on the floor.

He felt himself drifting into unconsciousness again, but he needed to stay awake for Spencer.

At that moment, he doubted that any of them were going to survive this.

He heard the voice of the terrorist from a long way off.

"I don't intend to kill you yet." he was saying, "You will be the last. But each time you refuse to cooperate, you will be shot." He swung the gun to cover the hostages. "If you survive the last hostage and don't bleed out, the last bullet will be to your forehead."

He began to pace up and down in front of the hostages, tormenting them with the shotgun.

Then he randomly shot one of the women in the second row. Her face disappeared and was replaced by smashed bone and gore. Brain tissue spattered on the women sitting around her and the screams of horror from the other hostages intensified. The woman's body slid off the seat she was on and gently landed on the floor between the seats, her dead arm still cuffed to the arm rest. The woman next to her was screaming hysterically.

The UnSub pointed the shotgun at her. "Shut up! Or you will join her!"

The screams degenerated into terrified whimpering as she stared into space with terrified eyes.

_Oh god. Now he's started, he won't stop until they are all dead _

Aaron pulled himself into a sitting position and wiped the blood from his eyes, but it continued to run down his face.

He could feel it on the back of his neck, and dripping onto the floor. He looked over at the weeping hostages.

He had never felt so useless. He was a leader of a team of some of the best people on the planet, and yet he felt helpless in the situation he was in.

He had put a plan into action, but there was so much depending on things he had no control over.

Beaten and bleeding, and grieving for Spencer, he was reaching the point where he didn't care anymore if he lived or died.

But looking at the hostages, all of whom desperately wanted to live, he knew he could not give up.

He thought of Spencer lying in a coma, vulnerable and unprotected.

He had to do something.

The terrorist turned and pulled Aaron up and made him stand. He stood swaying for a moment, unsure whether he was going to be able to remain upright. He wiped the blood away again and looked into the man's eyes, hoping to see some mercy buried deep within. The pale eyes were hard and cold. There was nothing there. Aaron thought, 'This man expects to die.'

He led Aaron over to the end of the second row where the dead woman was lying where she fell. He put the gun against the head of a young girl on the end of the row. He gave Aaron a key. Aaron looked at it in his open hand. Blood dripped from his face and painted scarlet drops on his open palm.

The bleeding from Aaron's head wound was showing no signs of slowing down, and tears of grief for this unknown woman were now wetting his face, cutting through the blood smears.

"Free the corpse from the cuff, and bring it out." He didn't need to tell Aaron what he would do if he disobeyed. He had just seen this man's form of justice.

He moved between the rows, and released her. He bent down and lifted the woman's body gently from the floor, and backed out of the row again.

He whispered, "Forgive me."

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Outside the theatre lying on his side, Spence suddenly became aware.

The sensation that greeted him was pain. His eyes felt as if they had been burnt from his skull. The muscles in his neck were torn and movement was excruciating.

Spencer lay still as his body woke up. Every part registered pain as it emerged from the darkness where he had been nestling.

He didn't move. Slowly he became aware of where he was, memories of the last few hours coming back to him.

He could remember his eyes being hurt again, he could remember choking, losing his breath.

And now he was here.

_Aaron? Did Aaron find me?_

Softly he called his name, but there was no answer.

He tried moving his arms. That was when he found the gun beneath his fingers. He ran his hands along the barrel of the shotgun, up onto the buttstock. The M1014, one of the guns that the terrorists were carrying.

Aaron had left it for him.

He moved his hands to his eyes. The pain in his head throbbed in rhythm with his heart beat, his eyes in agony.

Very carefully he touched his eyes. He felt tears running from the corners of his eyes, and he thought he could feel blood.

He knew he wouldn't be able to open them and even if he could, he had doubts that he would be able to see.

_This time, kid, you will hear your eyeballs pop when I push them into your skull _

Had that happened?

He couldn't remember.

He turned from his side onto his hands and knees, clutching the M1014, and felt his way along to the end of the merchandise stand. He concentrated on remembering the layout of the foyer.

The theatre was to his left, the foyer to his right. The stand was in the wide corridor leading to the theatre. He knelt in a firing position, and wondered how he was going to use the gun properly when he couldn't even distinguish dark from light.

Aaron had left him the gun for a reason. He just had to figure it out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aaron handed over the key back to the UnSub. Aaron was ordered to carry the body to the back of the theatre, and to open the door.

"You are going to take the corpse out into the foyer and leave it with the corpse of your partner."

Aaron pushed open the door and slowly walked down the ramp. The blood was drying in his eyes and sticking his eyelashes together. He forced them apart, wiping the blood from his face onto his shoulder.

"When is…."

"Shut up and walk!"

Spence heard them coming. He heard Aaron's sweet voice.

Whatever Aaron's plan was, he got himself ready.

Spencer got onto his feet, but remained crouched down behind the stand.

Spence! Now!"

As Aaron threw himself to the ground, the UnSub fired.

Aaron felt the bullet hit him in the back. He clutched at the hole above his heart where the bullet exited, and wondered if Spencer was even alive. His senses began to blur.

As his world darkened, he heard another gun fire.

_Spence!_

Bullets cut through the air above him, and he watched as the terrorist tried to steady his shotgun to fire back at Spencer. Aaron wanted to shout to Spence to get down.

The man let off several rounds before he crashed to the ground.

_You did it Spence_……_you did it_………………

_DARKNESS_


	9. Survivors

Chapter 9

Survivors

The world was very quiet when Aaron's senses next announced their existence. His first thought was one of surprise that he was still alive. His hand was resting on his chest, where a hole had torn out through his body. It was stuck to the blood that had pooled around his hand. He could feel the hole under his palm, but he wasn't sure if it hurt or not. It felt as if he was submerged in pain, washing over his whole body, not in any specific place, but all embracing.

He turned his head, trying to remember what had happened.

Next to him was the body of the hostage that had been murdered. He remembered carrying her.

The terrorist was lying by his feet, surrounded by blood. He remembered him falling, and firing his gun as he fell.

Then he remembered.

Spencer. Where was Spencer?

Spence had shot the terrorist. He had saved their lives.

Aaron groaned in agony as he attempted to turn over. He could see the feet of someone lying face down above his head.

Spence!

He wasn't moving. He tried to call him, but his voice wasn't ready yet.

Aaron reached up with his hand, trying to touch him. His hand brushed against Spencer's arm. He stretched his fingers out and caught hold of his shirt, pulling his arm towards him.

He couldn't move closer but he could touch him..

He ran his hand along Spencer's arm and found his hand. He entwined his fingers in Spencer's.

His skin felt cold and clammy.

_Spencer, I love you. You saved us. You are the bravest man I know._

Aaron's eyes overflowed with tears. Was he dead? Had he finally given his life to save others?

Aaron's crying cut into the still quiet air as he gripped the hand of the man he loved.

His senses drifted again.

The darkness came back.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"……..Aaron, you are safe………take you to hospital……."

Voices. Close by. Hands touching him. Gentle kind hands.

"Spencer…..where is he?"

Aaron realised he wasn't holding Spencer's hand any more.

"Where is……"

He felt an injection into his arm.

"It will take some of the pain away Aaron." The hand stroked his face.

He tried to ask for Spencer again, but his mouth wouldn't work.

_Darkness_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The young paramedic watched the man being carried out to the ambulance, and sat on the floor with her head in her hands.

When the four of them had entered the cinema, she saw the familiar place scattered with bodies.

This was supposed to be a place to relx, to have fun.

Now all she could see was death.

She went to the four bodies lying still on the ramp.

The first one she reached was a young man with long reddish brown hair. He had been beaten and something had injured his eyes. There was blood everywhere, but mostly on his neck and chest. He had at least one gunshot wound, possibly two, but there was so much blood she couldn't be sure. She felt for a pulse.

There was one, but very weak.

She saw he was holding the hand of one of the others lying there.

Her colleague took over and she moved to the next person. This one was a woman of about fifty. She was definitely dead; she could not be survived her facial injury.

The third body was a tall man in his twenties. He was clutching a shotgun. He too was dead, several bullet holes in his chest.

The fourth man she saw was holding the hand of the other survivor with the eye injuries. He was alive, but had suffered a gun shot wound to the head, and a serious chest injury. While her colleague continued to work on the young man, she started to check his friend.

As she began to cut his clothes back off his chest, she heard voices behind her. She turned to see a tall handsome black man and a dark haired woman. The man introduced himself.

"Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss, FBI" He indicated the dark haired man at his feet. "That is Agent Aaron Hotchner, his friend there, Agent Doctor Spencer Reid, both with the FBI."

Emily went up the ramp into the theatre where the hostages were being released.

Morgan knelt beside Aaron.

"Are they going to be all right?" To Morgan, neither looked all right. There was so much blood, and the injury to Aaron's chest, which the Paramedic had now uncovered, was bad.

"We'll do our best, Sir." she said, feeling that the stakes had suddenly got very high. "He's alive, and is drifting in and out. We'll know more when the doctor has seen him."

Spencer was being lifted onto a stretcher, and carried out. She noticed that their hands stayed together until they were literally pulled apart.

She cupped Aaron's face in her hands. "Aaron, Aaron, you are safe now. We are going to take care of you. The ambulance is here to take you to hospital."

She prepared a syringe.

"What's in that?" Morgan asked.

"A painkiller."

Aaron clutched at her hand. "Spencer….Where is he?"

She gently touched him, trying to calm him.

"Where is….."

She injected the painkiller, explaining to Aaron what it was. His eyes flickered, and he fell into a deep drug induced sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Four dead, including a hostage and the projectionist. Two FBI Agents in serious condition, and two terrorists with mild chemical burns to the face.

And twenty two unharmed hostages.

As they were led out of the building into the waiting ambulances, the press wanted to talk to them. One of the women stopped to make a statement. She had blood spatter across her face, and she was shaking with shock and relief.

She told the reporter about two FBI agents who happened to be watching the film. She said how their bravery saved their lives.

"The younger man, the one with long hair, he was wonderful." She was crying as she told the reported of the man's bravery, how he would not give in, and how on several occasions, had taken a beating to save others. And how, in the end, he was murdered in front of them.

She started crying.

"It was horrible, and he was so brave." she sobbed, "But without those two, none of us would be alive."

She walked away towards the ambulances, crying for the two agents, praying that they survived.


	10. Courage

_**Horace Walpole, Lord Oxford, wrote,**__ "Perhaps those, who, trembling most, maintain a dignity in their fate, are the bravest; resolution on reflection is real courage."_

Chapter 10

Courage 

A specialist was paged to treat Spencer's eye injuries, and he was in surgery for a long time as the surgeon fought to save his eyes. He had suffered severe corneal abrasions, primarily from his attacker's finger nails tearing through his eyelids. He had hyphemia in both eyes, which was to be expected, considering the cause of the injury, and iridodyalysis.

He also had detached retinas in both eyes, and his eyelids had been sutured

The terrorist had managed to shoot Spencer, the last thing he did on this earth. Spence had gunshot wound to the chest and neck.

Broken ribs from the beatings he endured, and a cracked jaw which was wired and plated.

When Morgan and Prentiss saw him when he came out of surgery, he was unrecognizable. He had shield patches on his eyes, his swollen bruised face held together with butterfly clips. He had dressings on his neck and chest.

Morgan gently touched Spencer's hair, leaned over and spoke to him.

"Hi kiddo. We'll be here when you wake up."

Prentiss stood back and waited. She was finding this difficult. She and Spencer hadn't got off to a very good start when she joined the BAU, and although her ambition had earned her few friends, and she was used to dealing with hostility, Spencer's antagonism bothered her more than usual, and she didn't know why.

She wondered if it was because she felt drawn to him in a way that she had not experienced before. She had thought at first that JJ was more her type, but Spencer's physical beauty and mental agility did more for her than any woman ever had.

She looked at Morgan touching him and felt a pang of jealousy.

She left them alone and waited outside, trying to profile her own confused state.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aaron was awake and staring at the ceiling. He had been told that Spencer had survived surgery on his eyes, and there was a fair chance that he would recover his sight.

Only a 'fair' chance.

He had been shot twice by the UnSub, both bullets within millimeters of killing him outright. But then, they always said that. They told him that his own gunshot wound should have killed him, but by some miracle, he'd survived.

He had sutures across the top of his head, and packing in the hole in his chest. Internally, he was ok, apart from bruising and broken ribs. They had screwed the right side of his jaw to the left side and he had been told that talking would probably hurt for a while.

All he wanted now was to see Spencer, but the nurses were getting annoyed at his asking every few minutes. He had decided to only ask when they came in to do his obs, but he hated not knowing.

There was a knock at the door. It was Emily.

She didn't come right in, but stood in the doorway. She looked embarrassed, which Aaron thought was unusual for her, normally so self assured and confident.

"You can come in." Aaron said, trying not to move his mouth and finding it impossible. She smiled in a shaky kind of way, and came and stood by the bed. She indicated the chair, and Aaron nodded.

"What's on your mind, Emily?"

She was surprised to hear him refer to her by her first name, but then, they weren't working, so she guessed that was ok. She could never call him Aaron though! Hotch was difficult enough!

"I wonder if I could talk to you about someone."

Aaron smiled, then stopped smiling. It hurt way too much.

"Reid?"

Emily looked shocked. "Yes! How…."

"Emily, I'm a profiler. I understand your confused feelings. Believe me, I've had a few myself."

She sighed gratefully. "I need this not to become common knowledge, Sir. I would hate Sp…er…Reid to ever find out how I feel. But I thought, as team leader, you ought to be informed."

Aaron nodded. "Thank you, Emily. I am grateful that you decided to let me know." He paused. "How is he?"

"He's out of surgery," she said, "But he was pretty banged up. They don't know yet if they've managed to save his sight, but they did save his eyes." She looked away from the sadness in her boss's eyes, and concentrated on her hands in her lap. "It will take time, I guess, for both of you to get over this."

Aaron thought about that. It would take Spence the rest of his life, if he didn't get his sight back.

Whatever the outcome, Aaron was going to be beside Spence every step of the way.

Emily stood up to leave. "Thank you Sir. I'll call in again later."

"Emily," Aaron called her back. "Would you do something for me?" He reached out and took his mobile from the table by his bed, and held it out to her. "Would you phone Haley's sister, and tell her I won't be able to come for Jack tomorrow. Her number's on the phone."

Emily took the phone from him. "Sure."

"And would you ask Erin Strauss to come by if she can? I need to talk to her about something."

Emily smiled and nodded, and she left.

"Mr. Hotchner!" Overly cheerful nurse. Aaron had worked out that the cheeriness of a nurse is inversely proportional to the concern they felt for the patient. Either this nurse was very concerned, or she had just won the lottery. "Obs time!"

Aaron started to ask about Spencer but she cut him off.

"I've spoke to your surgeon, and he has said if your obs are stable for the next three hours, I can take you to see Dr. Reid." She picked up Aaron's chart and stuck a thermometer in his ear. "That is what you were going to ask, isn't it?"

"You know me so well!" Aaron said in a stiff but happy voice. He smiled broadly. So what if it hurt!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Strauss had came straight over to see Aaron. He was surprised, but very pleased.

As she left, the nurse came in to do his obs.

"If they are ok this time, I'll take you to see Dr. Reid."

Then obs were fine. The nurse got a wheelchair, and between them they managed to get Aaron in it without too much crying out in pain.

When they arrived at Spencer's door, she knocked and, opened the door. It was the first time she had seen him, and she was surprised that he was so young.

She understood straight away Aaron's concern. The young man had a fragile beauty that you couldn't help but notice.

She wheeled Aaron to the bed, and squeezed his hand.

"I'll leave you two alone, and I'll be back in an hour." She put the call buzzer close to Aaron. "Just call if you need anything."

She closed the blind, and left.

Aaron looked at Spencer, and took his hand in his own.

"Spence, I'm so proud of you." There was so much Aaron wanted to say, but tears welled up in his eyes, and he couldn't speak. So instead, he held Spencer's hand to his lips and kissed his fingertips.

He felt Spencer respond to him.

"Spence, are you awake?"

"Yes." he answered, so softly, quietly.

Aaron held Spencer's hand against his cheek. "I love you so much, Spencey." Spence squeezed Aaron's hand again. "I love you, Aaron."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Over the next few days, Aaron and Spence spent most of their waking time together. On the forth day, Aaron was able to stand. When the nurse had left them, he stood and leaned over Spencer and kissed his lips. Spencer pus his arms around him and pulled him down. It was wonderful to be so close again. Aaron sat on the bed and lay down next to him. It was good to breathe in his heady scent and feel his warmth. He drew Spencer close, and ran his fingers through his hair. He held a lock of hair against his face and felt its softness on his skin.

It made Aaron's heart skip a beat as he buried his face in Spencer's neck and told him how much he loved him. He kissed Spencer's neck gently and softly

"We'll be out of here soon, Sweets." he whispered. "And we will be in our own bed."

Spencer smiled. "Can't wait!"

When he arrived back in his room that evening, Strauss was waiting for him. She sat patiently while the nurse helped him into his bed. Then she came and sat by his side.

"This is what you need." She said, handing him a folder. "From what I've read, and after informal interviews with the survivors, I think you are probably right."

Aaron opened the folder to the first page, and read:

_The __**FBI Medal of Valor**__ is presented in recognition of an exceptional act of heroism or voluntary risk of personal safety and life, and this act must have occurred in the direct line of duty or within the scope of FBI employment and in the face of criminal adversaries._

Perfect

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**END**


End file.
